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Best Car Seats

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Best Infant Car Seats Best All-in-One Car Seats Best Convertible Car Seats

Cosco Scenera Extend

Harnessed Car Seats / Convertible Car Seats
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Scenera Extend
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The Cosco Scenera Extend is a convertible car seat designed for use with children weighing between 5 lb. and 50 lb. It’s a fairly basic, no-frills car seat with a lightweight design and slim profile, though the Extend version is slightly wider and taller than its predecessors, the Cosco Scenera and Scenera Next convertible car seats, which may make this a tighter fit in smaller cars. 

Price

$59.00

Description

The Cosco Scenera Extend is a convertible car seat designed for use with children weighing between 5 lb. and 50 lb. It’s a fairly basic, no-frills car seat with a lightweight design and slim profile, though the Extend version is slightly wider and taller than its predecessors, the Cosco Scenera and Scenera Next convertible car seats, which may make this a tighter fit in smaller cars. 

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Cosco Scenera Extend
PRICE $59.00
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CR's Expert Take

How did it perform in our expert lab testing?

Overall Score

The Overall Score for this model is derived from our expert lab test results.
Current Range of Tested Harnessed Car Seats
What goes into the Overall Score?

EXPERT LAB TESTS

Ease of use
4  /  5
Forward facing fit-to-vehicle
4  /  5
Rear facing fit-to-vehicle
4  /  5
Booster fit
N  /  A
Rear LATCH
4  /  5
Rear belt
3  /  5
Forward LATCH
5  /  5
Forward belt
3  /  5
Harnessed crash protection
BETTER
Good small car fit
Yes

Pros

  • Seat is lightweight, at just 8 lb.
  • Straightforward, streamlined design
  • LATCH anchors can be used for car seat’s lifespan
  • Seat pad is machine-washable and dryer-safe

Cons

  • Tall shell might not fit small cars well in rear-facing position
  • Harness adjustment requires rethreading 
  • LATCH connectors are hook-on only
  • No recline bubble indicators; printed level line only
  • Can’t be used as long as other convertible car seats with forward-facing weight limits up to 65 lb.

CR's Take

Overall, the Cosco Scenera Extend is a very basic convertible car seat at a reasonable price. CR’s safety experts consider it to be straightforward to use and it offers good crash protection in our rigorous crash tests. The successor to the venerable Cosco Scenera and Scenera Next seats, this version has grown in size and now accommodates children up to 50 lb. in forward-facing mode. Though it’s slightly larger than its predecessors, the Cosco Scenera Extend weighs only 8 lb., making it easy to move between cars as needed, and because it’s so lightweight, it can be installed with the lower anchors of the LATCH system for the car seat’s entire duration of use. But what it offers in simplicity, the Cosco Scenera Extend lacks in convenient features: adjusting the harness requires rethreading, and there are only five height positions and three buckle locations. The seat comes with an easy-to-remove, machine-washable seat pad, and a dishwasher-safe cupholder. 

This seat may be a good choice for: 

  • Families looking to switch from an infant car seat
  • Families who need to move their car seat between multiple cars
  • Families who are looking for a LATCH installation for long-term use
  • Families looking for a lightweight convertible car seat for travel

Detailed Test Results

Ease of use: The Cosco Scenera Extend’s straightforward design makes it fairly easy to use, though it lacks some parent-friendly features like a no-rethread harness that could make the adjustment process easier. 

Fit-to-vehicle LATCH: The Cosco Scenera Extend offers good rear-facing and very good forward-facing vehicle fit using the LATCH system.

Fit-to-vehicle Belt: Installing the Cosco Scenera Extend with the seatbelt was a little difficult, as the seat tends to tilt and loosen over time, which means caregivers should check the tightness of the installation with every use. Routing the seatbelt means you’ll need to first pull back the seat cover, which can be tedious.

Crash protection: In CR’s crash test protocol, the Cosco Scenera Extend offered good crash protection and did not exhibit significant structural integrity issues.

About

The Cosco Scenera Extend is part of the Car Seats test program at Consumer Reports. In our lab tests, Harnessed Car Seat models like the Scenera Extend are rated on multiple criteria, such as those listed below.

Ease of use: Our judgment of how easy each seat is to use including the clarity of labels and instructions, adjustments of clips and buckles, the transition of the seat between modes and installation features such as LATCH connections, belt paths, top tethers and booster guides.

Forward facing fit-to-vehicle: A rating of how compatible, easy and secure a child car seat can be correctly installed in the forward-facing direction. This rating is a combination of the LATCH system and belt ratings that are available individually on the model page.

Rear facing fit-to-vehicle: A rating of how compatible, easy and secure a child car seat can be correctly installed in the rear-facing direction. This rating is a combination of LATCH system and belt ratings that are available individually on the model page.

Additional Information

Good to know: All child car seats sold in the United States are required to meet government safety standards. 

About our testing: Consumer Reports’ child car seat tests are not designed to test compliance with federal standards. Rather, we evaluate car seat performance under conditions designed by our experts that go beyond the required federal safety standards. 

Consumer Reports’ independent car seat crash test program has been carefully designed to simulate the forces encountered during a crash, while replicating some of the real-world factors that might impact a car seat’s performance. Our testing aims to determine which car seats could provide an extra level of safety when compared to other models in the same category. 

Basic, Better, or Best: CR rates the child car seats we crash test on a scale of Basic, Better, and Best, based on the additional margin of safety they may provide. Read about how we test car seats to learn more about our crash test protocol.

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